Can-opening device



Feb. 17, 1931. G. AHLQUIST CAN OPENING DEVICE Filed Dec. 8, Y 1928Patented Feb. 17, 1931 UNITED *STATES GUNNAR AHLQUIST, OI MINNEAPOLIS,MINNESOTA I CAN-OPENING DEVICE Application filed December 8, 1928.Serial No. 324,611.

, My invention relates to can opening devices and has for its object toimprove the same as will hereinafterappear, and to this end it consistsof the novel devices and combinations of devices hereinafter describedand defined inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, likecharacters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the device;

Fig. 2 is a section taken'approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, someparts being shown in full;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 83 of Fig. 2; showing the parts inan operative position; and

' Fig. 4 is a section similar to Fig. 3, but

with the cutting wheel drawn away from the feeding wheel for insertionover the rim of the can.

The device includes a mounting bracket 5 that is securable to anysuitable support, but which is shown as being secured to a table orcounter top 6 by means of screws or the like 7. The mounting bracket 5has an outwardly and upwardly inclined projection 8 in which, near theouter end thereof, is journaled a shaft 9 that projects from a toothedor knurled rotary feeding .wheel 10. Near the end of the shaft 9opposite the feeding roller is a handle-equipped crank 11 that isremovably secured thereto for movements therewith by a screw 12 and awasher 13. The upper end of the shaft 9 to which the handleequippedcrank is applied is reduced to form a shoulder 14 between which and thewasher 5' the under side of the mounting bracket and 'ing lever 16 isturned .from the position 7 shown by full lines in Figsrl and 2, therotary cutting wheel will be caused to revolve around the axis of thestub shaft 15 and will be moved away from its normal operative position..When the parts are in their normal positions, the cutting edge 18 ofthe rotary cutting wheel slightly underlies the knurled or toothed edgeof the feeding wheel 10. showing the parts in an inoperative positionFormed near the end of the lever 16 and surrounding but spaced from thestub shaft 15, is a cup-like flange 21, the free edge of which engagesthe top side of the outwardly projecting portion 8 of the mountingbracket 5. This cup-like flange 21 serves as a bearing to hold the stubshaft and co-operating parts against downward movement and also enclosesa spring 22that is coiled around the stub shaft 15. One end of thisspring 22 is inserted into a hole 23 in the lever 16 and the other endthereof is inserted into a hole 24 in the mounting bracket- Thesaidspring 22 acts to normally hold the lever 16, stub shaft 15, crank pin17, and cutting wheel 18 in an operative position, as shown'in Figs. 2and 3, but will allow the cutting wheel to be moved away from thefeeding wheel by manual manipulation of the lever 16.

The device is illustrated as being applied to a can indicated by thenumeral 25. The top of the can is indicated by the numeral 26, the rimby the numeral27, and liquid contents therein by the letter 3 r Thedevice is operated as follows:

The lever 16 will be turned against the tenr sion of the spring 22 fromthe position shown byfulllines in Figs. 1 and 2, to the positionsshownby dotted lines in Fig. 1, in which position the cutting wheel 18will be'retracted to the position shown in Fig. 4. In this position ofthe parts, the rim 27 of the cam may be inserted between the feedingwheel 10 and the cutting wheel 18 and the lever 16 released. hen thelever 16 is released the tension spring 22 will move the cutting wheel18 toward the feeding wheel 10 so that its cutting edge 18 will engageand be held under pressure of the spring 22 against the outside of thecan just below the rim 27. The rimengaging portion 18 of the cuttingwheel will now be slightly spaced from the rim of the can. By applying aslight hand pressure to the lever 16, the cutting edge 18 of the cuttingwheel will be inserted slightly throughthe side of the can and therim-engaging portion 18 of the cutting wheel will be moved into contactwith the rim 27. The rim 27 of the can 25 will now be pressed betweenthe knurled feeding wheel 10 and the rim-engaging portion 18 of thecutting wheel 10 and when the handle-equipped crank. is rotated, the rim27 will be rolled between the feeding wheel and said rim-engagingportion of the cutting wheel; lVhile the can is being thus rotated, itwill, due to the angle at which the feeding and cutting wheels aredisposed, remain insubstantially vertical positions, so that thecontents y thereof will not be spilled. lVhen the canhas been turnedacomplete revolution, the top thereof will be entirely severed from themain body ofthe can and the rim- 27 may be readily released from itsposition between the wheels 10 and 18 by manipulation of the lever 1.6..After the can has been primarily punctured by manually forcing thecutting edge of. the wheel 18 therethrough, the spring 22 will hold thecutting wheel'18 in an operative position through the balance of thecomplete cutting operation.

The angle at which the feeding wheel 10 andcutting wheel 18 are disposedis very important. These wheels 10 and 18 are disposed in a planeupwardly inclined from the horizontal corresponding tothe incline of theoutwardly and upwardly projecting portion 8 of the bracket Inpractice,it has been found that a can being cut by an-opener employing a rotaryfeeding wheel and a rotary cutting wheel will have a strong tendency totilt at an angle to the plane in which said wheels are disposed and agreat dealof dilii culty has heretofore been experienced when openers ofthis general type have been rigidly secured to a support. In my device,however, the wheelsare disposed at anangle to the horizontal and the canmay remain in an upright position during the complete openingoperationso that the contents thereof will not be spilled.

lVhat I claim is:

1. In acan opening device, a mounting bracket securable to a support, ashaft journaled in said bracket, a feeding Wheelmounted on one end ofsaid shaft and operating means-on the other end thereof, a lever havinga stub shaft on one end that is journaled in the bracket, a crank pinprojecting from the free end of the stub shaft and eccentric to the axisthereof, a rotary cutting wheel journaled on said crank pin, saidcutting wheel being movable about the axis of the stub shaft, when saidlever is turned, to move the same toward and away from the rotaryfeeding wheel, and a spring for normally keeping the lever and cuttingwheel in their operative positions.

2. In a can opening device, a mounting member, a rotary :l'eedi-ng wheelj ournaled to said mounting member, a lever means journal'edtosaidmounting member, a rotary cut ting wheel ournaled to the ournaledportion of'sa-id lever nieanseccentric to the axis thereof and. movabletoward and away from. said feeding wheel when said lever meansismanipulated, :ind'resilient means normally tending to move saidcutting wheel to its operative position.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature GUNNAR AHLQUIST.

